Rudd hopes hang on the young and restless

The key Australians who could decide whether Kevin Rudd is a one-term prime minister weren’t even born when Bob Hawke was first elected in 1983.

He argues that the Kevin ’07 campaign appealed to us Gen Y voters, with its rock star candidates, social media savvy and emphasis on cool issues like the environment and reconciliation.

There’s a strange mix of attitudes towards young voters. Even in this one article, Barrie seems to dismiss us as Facebook flakes with short attention spans at the same time as he acknowledges the power of the youth demographic to swing elections and set agendas.